A blog designed to help make safety easy.

September is National Preparedness Month

Another month has passed and it is already September. Now, this month isn’t just the beginning of Fall, but it is the start of National Preparedness Month.

What is National Preparedness Month?
It is a month long campaign towards Disaster Awareness/Preparedness. The slogan is “Be Disaster Aware, Take Action to Prepare”. Think to yourself, if disaster struck what would you do? Do you have a plan for your family? Do you have a plan in case you’re at work? If the answer is ‘No’ to any of these, you should probably sit down and put a plan together. Life can be unpredictable and you never know when disaster will strike.

How can you get prepared?To begin, consider these factors to create a plan that will work best for you:

different ages of members

responsibilities for assisting others

locations frequented

dietary needs

medical needs including prescriptions and equipment

disabilities or access and functional needs including devices and equipment

languages

cultural and religious considerations

pets or service animals

Keep a contact list together of who you can get in touch with to notify your safety. If it’s easier, designate ONE contact that is out of state to be your go to in case of an emergency so there is no confusion and the communication flow stays consistent. Make sure everyone in the family has access to the number and has a way to get in touch with your designated contact. If calling does not work, make sure each person can text.

Lastly, make sure everyone has a subscription for alert services. This will update you and your family in case disaster strikes. You can get updates on weather, road closures, etc. Ready.gov suggests subscribing to your local Emergency Management Site. You can find that here.

Ready.gov also suggests putting together a Basic Disaster Supply Kit. This includes:

Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation